I r e l a n d ' s p r e m i e r U n d e r w a t e r N a t u r a l H i s t o r y d i g i t a l m e d i a a r t i s t

The Making of Iveragh Sea
Back in 2006 I set out on a three year journey to film Salmon, Sea Trout and Brown Trout behaviour for a feature on the natural history, conservation of and angling for these magnificent fish. On the back of the end of the drift net Salmon fishing industry in 2006 (where 8000km of nets were removed from Irish waters) and the hardship that fisherman who lost their livelihoods endured, I decided it would be a good idea to create a series of short films, rolled into one major feature, that could highlight the sometimes awful but generally beautiful reality of the lives of animals, that live on, below and above water. This series of ten short films would form the backbone of an environmental education piece... something that didn't have the constraints of normal TV production shcedules but could be filmed and developed over a number of years. This organic development would give me the time to think about approach and also afford me the time to capture the best shots required to tell each story. I also want to create a body of work which could be performed live on stage. I will have to recruit a band to perform the music I am currently writing so that viewers can experience a live performance with film, live music and narration. Equally important will be the ability of each story to stand alone and it is with this in mind that I would hope to present each piece as an individual intimate experience for the viewer.

ABOVE: A still from Iveragh Sea (Part 1) "In Search of Plenty"

During this time Pat and I had been involved with and featured in a BBC NHU production/documentary on satellite tracking Giant Leatherback Turtles in Irish waters. A group of scientists had depended on the drift net fishing industry to deliver leatherback turtles as “science test dummies” for their research. These turtles became entangled in the drift nets and so it allowed the scientists to grapple with and place on the turtles back a satellite tracking device. I wondered at the time, how stressed the animals became by being caught in a net and by being man handled…

This is when I came up with the idea to tell stories from the animal’s point of view… and so Iveragh Sea was born.

In essence, Iveragh Sea is an imagined place where animals live in and around an aquatic environment from fresh to salt water. There will be ten stories in total, probably totalling sixty minutes in all. The first two in the series highlight the lives of Common Dolphins and Atlantic Salmon. I also wanted to film the series in HD Video - this enables me to capture the real beauty of the aquatic environment I am filming in. Lastly, I think it important that wildlife should be experienced in new and challenging ways/formats... I really believe in the connect between art and science. Art and Science very often look to nature for inspiration and answers. Perhaps this collision of the arts and sciences results in the introduction of feelings into natural world experiences... not a bad thing at all.

Part 1 - In Search of Plenty
This tells the story of Common Dolphins living in the Iveragh Sea. It follows them as they journey in search of food and highlights through poetry, narrative and an original score the fears and hopes of their pod. This powerful combination gives an amazing sense of freedom and moves the viewer in a deeply spiritual way.

Thanks to Mary Lynn Price (divefilm.com) the film is the first Irish wildlife film to be showcased on AppleTV and on itunes. The film has been put forward for consideration in the SanDiego Undersea Film Festival.

Part 2  - Trapped
Tells the harrowing true tale of a Salmon caught in nets. As it struggles to break free and as it heads towards certain drowning and eventual death – the viewer is brought back (using a dream sequence) to see the Salmon’s life from birth to death… The film acts as a metaphor for the struggles in life that we as humans often encounter and almost certainly to places in our being where we feel trapped, helpless and unable to function. The film is powerful but bases its message in hope for future generations.

Both films are available in standard definition DVD or High Definition Blue Ray disc format.

Filming for Iveragh Sea (Part 1 and 2)
Where does one start? I filmed the Salmon sequences over a two year period. The Salmon sequences involved filming in the depths of winter in some of the rivers and lakes of Killarney, Caragh and Waterville, Co. Kerry. A lot of the time was spent walking banks of rivers to locate suitable places with local expert John Buckley. Other times I dived in lakes and rivers to get some deeper water scenes and fast current flows. Yet other times, I set the gear up in the water and waited patiently for something to happen.

TRAPPED - The smolt scene - A Salmon smolt takes a water nymph into its mouth (duration 10 seconds)
I needed a shot that would show a young salmon smolt feeding in fast water currents. This would enable me to not only show feeding behaviour but also to show that by feeding they grow. This shot was filmed at night. The sequence where the smolt lies in the current eyeing up potential food and where he eats the water nymph floating past was very difficult physically.

Pat and I had surveyed the area of river from a safety point of view, finding out where I would end up if I was swept away by the current, looking for potentially dangerous objects etc. The first dive I found a suitable underwater location. There were Salmon smolts passing by fairly frequently. Surfacing I started to move the gear and weights into location. After a second dive I went into the water. Taking the cumbersome camera housing and lights I slowly made my way to the spot. Diving under the current I had to wedge myself in an underwater gulley, I weighted my self down with the diver weights, otherwise I would have been swept away. I used the fading light of a setting sun to get into position. Depth was 3 meters in very fast water. I set up the equipment, lit up the scene in the way I wanted and adjusted the camera exposure and depth of field. Then I switched everything off and used the beam of a diving torch to scan the area for the presence of feeding salmon smolts. Seventy minutes later a smolt came into view. Switching on the lights spooked him. He subsequently lay in the current just outside the beam. Eventually he came within the lights range and began examining the detritus. Some he took into his mouth but spat it out. Others he ate but in doing so never turned towards the camera. I was looking for the perfect shot and then it happened. A water nymph tumbled downward, hurtling towards the smolt. In an instant the smolt turned and facing the camera, took the nymph into his mouth. I had it, I had the perfect shot, a shot that would thread the sequences of the Salmon's earlier life together.

IN SEARCH OF PLENTY - The dolphin feeding scene - filming off the Skellig Rocks (duration 50 seconds)
The dolphin sequences were filmed offshore. I had run/boated with the same group for close on 3 days. Leaving them at evening time and starting at daybreak the next morning to find the group. On the 3rd day I found them at 7am, about 20 miles west of the Skelligs. For the next 2 hours they made their way towards the Skelligs. Gannets accompanied the goup. The shot I really wished for was one in which the Dolphins and Gannets were feeding just off the Skelligs. Hopefully I would get scenes of Dolphins "porpoising" with the rocks in the background. The day was amazing - blistering hot early morning sun, flat calm, azure blue water... perfect! The dolphins had, by now, got use to my presence, so much so that when I finally captured the scenes, including some beautiful underwater sequences you can hear them making whistling and clicking sounds as they swim past me. There is nothing as exhiliarating as diving in open water surrounded by feeding Gannets.

Praise in the Media

IVERAGH SEA Part 1 - In Search of Plenty
"A beautiful celebration and wonderful musical infusion of Ireland's Marine life..."
Mary Lynn Price - Divefilm.com

IVERAGHSEA Part 2 - Trapped
Selected for viewing - Dingle film Festival and the North Sea Film Festival 2007
"Poetic, powerful, inspirational, artistic, raises awareness and very beautiful..."
Mary Lynn Price - Divefilm.com

"I was blown away by this truly intense experience"
Katrina Robinson - Wetpixel.com

"An amazing underwater film"
The Irish Times